Currently the best selling non-national car in the market simply because it is fresh and new (before the launch of the all-new Vios. Nissan has a NISMO package for the car and you can buy it together with the Almera or separately. In short you can upgrade any Almera that had been purchased prior to the launch of the Nissan Almera NISMO packages.



Nissan Almera NISMO Packages

NISMO Performance Package     (RM13,000)
NISMO Aero Package                 (RM8,000)

Individual Parts Pricing  
Aerokit (includes Front Bumper Spoiler, Rear Bumper Spoiler, Side Skirts, and Trunk Lid Spoiler)
Aerokit (includes Front Bumper Spoiler, Rear Bumper Spoiler, Side Skirts, and Trunk Lid Spoiler) RM3,600
 
NISMO 16-inch Alloy Wheels (Set of 4)            RM2,800 per set  
Continental Max Contact MC5 tyres (Set of 4)   RM1,600 per set
 
NISMO Sports Exhaust Muffler          RM2,000  
NISMO Performance Suspension System  RM3,000

* Aerokit is offered as a package
Personally, I'd buy an Almera without any of the parts mentioned above. Save your hard earned money and buy a basic Almera if you want to buy one. I shall mention the reasons below:

1. The Almera is ugly. It has a big butt. It is like a female version of Kim Kardashian. Very polarising as some like big butts. I don't. I know it has a lot of rear space and boot space. But it is because of all the space that it has a very rear biased design. Look at it properly. The bodykit does help a little but only a little.

2. The bodykit does not in any way make the ugly Almera into a Nissan GT-R. You must be insane if you thought it did.

3. People who buy RM80,000 cars are on a budget. Do not splurge on cars or parts like this. Save up so you can buy a real Nissan. By this I mean anything that isn't an Almera - although the current Slyphy sold here is the previous model and does not even have disc brakes. So don't buy that too.

4. Buy a Nissan Teana if you have saved up that extra RM13,000 - It adds a lot to the downpayment of a proper sized sedan. Uncle cars like the Teana can actually cruise at over 150km/h without breaking a sweat. You could cruise all day in one unlike any Almera equipped with a noisy NISMO exhaust and performance suspension set. Why? You're just adding noise (with maybe a horsepower or two) and a harsher ride to a car that is fundamentally a budget family sedan that even a Malaysian made Proton Suprima S could run rings round any time of the day. Adding Noise, Vibration and Harshness in a car that was designed to a budget means that if this is your daily drive it means adding pain and suffering to yourselves.

5. Of course, it is your money but you must remember that RM13,000 earns a hell of a lot of interest if put in unit trusts or a high yield savings account and it could actually be used to buy a nicer looking car after you're done with the basic, run of the mill Almera. And trust me, a lot of cars are nicer to look at compared to the Almera.

As some of you readers may have read I was in Kuantan recently and this is a slightly more detailed write-up about it. Of course, I still left some bits out, mostly non-motoring. I took hundreds of shots, from a 16mp camera down to a 2mp camera phone. This mostly came from a 5mp camera phone as downloading a lot of 16mp photos takes up bandwidth and a chunk of my data plan. But what these photographs do is tell the story.


Click here to read about Kuantan.


And now, on something iconic. The yellow cabs in New York will be replaced in 2013 by Nissan Minivans. Sigh.

Click here to read more about it. Posted on MyAutoblog.org.